


The Measure of a Man

by VirginiasWolf



Series: Life Moves On [15]
Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-07 22:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20476514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VirginiasWolf/pseuds/VirginiasWolf
Summary: Richard attempts to brush up on his Mandarin so he can befriend an elderly neighbor and this makes Camille emotional.Part of the Life Moves On series and takes place around the same time as Proving Richard Wrong. You don't need to have read any previous stories in the series to understand what's going on in this one.





	The Measure of a Man

Today is not one of Camille's days on the work rotation, and so she is in the kitchen attempting to follow one of her mother's recipes, with minimal success, when Richard slinks in with an almost secretive and ashamed look and tries to get past her while hiding a shopping bag.

  
"Good evening, by the way, what's in the bag?" Camille tries to ask as innocently as possible. She isn't worried that the contents are something too scandalous that could ruin their marriage. As much as she is the kind of secret romantic who feels that marriage is a commitment and the parties involved should have an open and healthy line of communication so they can work out any problems, Richard is even more so. Infidelity is inexcusable to him, no matter what the circumstances, and she knows that he was absolutely crushed when he found out his parents were considering separating after over forty years of marriage, even though it had all turned out well in the end, and they had remained together, even weathering through their son's "death". 

  
No, the thing in the bag is probably something completely innocent he only thinks he should hide from her. Perhaps it is a candy that he plans to put in his "secret" sweets stash, which she only pretends not to know about. Or lighter fluid, to destroy that godawful pink paisley patterned necktie that Humphrey sent him as an attempt to start a friendship. Although Camille can appreciate the gesture and thinks they could have an interesting friendship, she also thinks it is the most genuinely hideous and not Richard thing she has ever seen. If she was married to a more openly romantic man she'd assume that perhaps there was something for a special evening, but she's almost sure it isn't that, because although adorably endearing, spontaneous and romantic he is not.

  
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just a little light grocery shopping." He sputters freezing in place, at which point she realizes that it is a bag for the local bookstore. So the thing he is hiding is probably not candy, or lighter fluid or something romantic, but a book on some obscure topic that she likely won't be able to share his interest in. Nonetheless, she still won't chide or bully him for it, because she loves him, and she loves the amount of energy he puts into his passions. So although she may not fully understand when he spends his time reading about bugs, or architecture, or astronomy, he doesn't actually need to hide any of that from her.

  
"Richard, you know you don't have to hide your interests from me." She speaks gently and patiently, hoping she can coax him into discussing his new books. At least it may be something to distract from how it looks like dinner may actually end up being takeout.

  
"It's silly really."

  
"Let me be the judge of that." Whatever it is, it won't be silly. Even if she doesn't understand it, she'll still love it because it will be part of him and she loves him. Once she reaches him, she carefully reaches into the bag and pulls a book out. It turns out to be a volume over brushing up on learning Mandarin. She remembers him stating that he'd learned it in school, but she initially isn't sure why exactly he wants to brush up his skills now. "Okay?"

  
"I knew you'd think it was silly." Richard quickly stumbles over his words, hanging his head the whole time he's speaking.

  
"No, I don't think it's remotely silly." Camille leans in to plant a reassuring kiss on his lips, "I just am unsure why you have these books. They don't deal with any recent cases we have worked."

  
"Ahh, well this isn't for a case." At least he does seem to perk up a little now, and Camille fixes him with one of her looks telling him to continue speaking. "They're for Mrs. Huang, so I can talk to her more, and perhaps offer to do odd housework tasks for her."

  
Lucille Huang is a woman who lives two doors down from them. If Camille had to guess her age, she'd assume she must be in her mid-eighties. Her husband of several decades died shortly before Richard and Camille moved into their flat. Mrs. Huang also seems to have extremely rare visits from her son and grandchildren, and Camille gets the impression that they don't really keep up with her life. She is also an immigrant to the UK from China, and although she can speak some English, she seems to be far more proficient in her mother tongue, which has seemed to make it hard for her to connect with the rest of the neighborhood, a task that was apparently previously helped by her British husband's ability to translate for her.

  
It makes perfect sense to Camille that her husband, despite his claims that he absolutely cannot read body language, would recognize that someone else felt lonely and cut off and want to find some way to take away their suffering, and his shy admission about wanting to befriend an elderly immigrant neighbor only manages to make her love him even more.

  
"Oh, Richard." She doesn't initially realize her eyes have pricked with tears at the sudden admission of kindness from him, but he of course immediately notices and reads it completely wrong.

  
"And you're absolutely horrified." Now he really does look genuinely ashamed, and she wishes it were easier to keep him from immediately assuming any strong reaction to him came from a place of negativity.

  
"You have made a completely selfless decision to try to help someone in our community who is truly at need. It makes me proud to be married to you."

  
Richard lets a shy boyish smile creep onto his face. "Really?"

  
"Yes. Really, but I wonder..."

  
"Oh dear." The smile drops and she can tell that he knows that the other shoe is about to drop.

  
"Perhaps you could also put some energy into better perfecting your French as well."


End file.
